NATURAL HISTORY. 39 



tinguishing feature in their external formation ; 

 and which according to the system of Linnaeus, 

 has been derived principally, though not alto- 

 gether, from the flower ; the analysis of which 

 with the stem and leaf, determines the class, 

 order, genus, and variety to which the plant 

 belongs. And as each plant more or les# comes 

 under one head or the other, such an arrangement 

 is easily made of the whole as will impress on 

 the memory, by a little practice and attention, 

 the different classes to which nature has subject- 

 ed the vegetable kingdom ; and thus by degrees 

 we become acquainted with each particular 

 vegetable. 



But this study, however interesting and instruc- 

 tive in itself, or necessary for the better compre- 

 hending the more intricate parts of the vegetable 

 kingdom, is of too limited a tendency to embrace 

 that enlarged view of the subject, which we con- 

 sider to be important in the study of botany. 



It is not the only external formation and distin- 

 guishing character of plants, or a knowledge of all 

 their varieties, which should become the subject 

 of philosophical interest; but it is more parti- 

 cularly their internal structure the functions 

 and uses of each part their growth, maturity, 

 decay, and renovation and the general and par- 

 ticular purposes for which they were created, 

 that confer dignity on the science of botany, and 

 render it one of the most interesting subjects to 



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